Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 268 i Retro Gamer

One of the great joys of having been on the telly 25 years ago is that if I have a gripe with a company for not delivering something or cancelling something, I can Tweet about it and generally get it sorted out sharpish. Another bonus is I get invited to various events and sometimes even asked to take part. The latest was the Crash Live event in Kenilworth. This is a beautiful coming together of Spectrum lovers organised by the mighty Chris Wilkins. He’s clearly a lunatic – reviving a long-dead magazine in a time when printed media is on its way out (not you Retro Gamer!). But it works. And there are a few reasons. First up is it’s bloody good. And the reason it’s so good is Chris…

The hotly anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots arrived on Sony’s PlayStation 3 this month, and fans were hoping that Hideo Kojima’s latest stealth action game would do wonders for the console. However, games™ declared the game an example of “flawed brilliance” bemoaning that in relying heavily on cutscenes, “Kojima has missed a number of opportunities to give the player a more direct role in Guns Of The Patriots’ most important sequences.” The magazine’s 8/10 score was matched by Edge, which noted that some cutscenes were “perilously close to the 90-minute mark”, but praised the gameplay, impressed by “the AI honouring all kinds of approach”. Play gave it 92%, calling it “a varied, engaging and entertaining epic”. Over on the Xbox 360, Ryu Hayabusa returned to slice and…

GHOULS ’N GHOSTS 1989 SEGA R&D 2 ◼ According to Den Faminico Gamer, this impressive conversion was handled by Yuji Naka after he requested that Sega license Capcom’s game after seeing it in arcades. Naka did a superb job and his conversion features all the elements of the arcade original, including its majestic bosses. ROLLING THUNDER 2 1991 NAMCO ◼ Namco did some fantastic work on Sega’s console and its conversion of its popular arcade sequel remains a great example. It doesn’t look quite as impressive as the arcade original, but it’s otherwise extremely authentic to play. It also has a great password system that’s as fun to use as it is helpful. GOLDEN AXE 1989 SEGA R&D 2 ◼ The sprites are quite dinky, but no other home version…

TIME GAL 1992 WOLF TEAM ◼ The Mega-CD played host to plenty of LaserDisc game conversions, and Time Gal is one of the best. While Taito’s arcade original did little to expand on the Dragon’s Lair formula, Wolf Team treated Toei’s anime art with care and created a conversion that avoids the add-on’s typical grainy video. MAD DOG MCCREE 1993 AMERICAN LASER GAMES ◼ What do you get the Mega Drive owner who has everything? Well, Mad Dog McCree takes advantage of both the Mega-CD and the Menacer. The Western setting and acting are cheesy and the video transfer from LaserDisc is rough, but it adds some welcome variety to the sparse lightgun library. STAR WARS ARCADE 1994 SEGA INTERACTIVE ◼ This 32X launch game is not only the best…

Peter Ranson was sitting in Big Red Software’s office in Macclesfield, Cheshire, when the phone rang. He picked up the receiver and discovered it was his brother, Paul. Paul, who was Big Red’s founder and Codemasters’ development director, had a request to create a new Dizzy game for a compilation called Dizzy’s Excellent Adventures. But the catch was that it needed to be developed in a matter of weeks and Big Red was already working on another Dizzy title. It was 1991 and the Dizzy series was well established. Big Red had picked up the baton from the Oliver twins to create the fourth adventure, Magicland Dizzy, and it was working on the fifth, Spellbound Dizzy, a hugely ambitious game spread over a whopping 108 screens that was also earmarked…

» PLAYSTATION » 2000 » SUCCESS For a little while around the early Noughties, Saturday visits to see my dad would often conclude with trips to the pub – he’d drink with his friend while my stepmum played designated driver. These nights were dull. I was too young to drink or relate to the conversations the adults were having, and there was nobody of my age to hang out with. I was expecting a similarly dull night at dad’s friend’s house when it became the drinking venue because he was looking after his young sons, so when the six-year-old asked for help with his PlayStation game, I jumped at the opportunity. Surely any game would be better? When I saw the box art with the Pocket Price label, I immediately felt…

» MANUFACTURER: Nintendo » YEAR: 1983 » COST: £23.95 (launch), £90+ (today, boxed), £55+ (today, unboxed) Nintendo’s Game & Watch range, a series of dedicated LCD handheld games, did very good business for the company from its introduction in 1980. After a couple of years of successful releases, Nintendo decided to introduce a brand-new dual-screen format in 1982, first used in the game Oil Panic. The Game & Watch adaptation of the arcade hit Donkey Kong adopted this format the same year and was wildly successful, and also introduced the cross-shaped d-pad that would become ubiquitous on Nintendo hardware. Nintendo returned for a second bite of the cherry with Donkey Kong II the next year. The multi-screen Game & Watch units are fascinating in terms of their design, since it’s…

ATARI ST ◼ Pascal Jarry developed the game originally on the Atari ST, alongside Marc de Florès (graphics) and Michel Winogradoff (sound). Here everything is as it should be: the graphics are crisp, detailed and colourful, the animations are fast, the controls are precise. To this day, this is Pascal’s favourite version. AMIGA ◼ The Amiga version of Panza Kick Boxing, programmed by Pascal’s Loriciel colleague Nicolas Massonnat, was developed alongside its Atari ST brother, released at the same time, and is virtually identical to it. The Amiga game sold better than the ST version, though, so this is the one most people are familiar with. PC ENGINE ◼ The most obvious change of the PC Engine version is the new cover artwork, which features exaggeratedly muscular fighters doing some…

SLAP SENSIBLY ◼ One of the most memorable parts of Dungeon Keeper is the ability to slap your minions with your huge spooky hand. It makes them work harder and faster, but drains health points. Get the balance right to avoid fed-up creatures abandoning your dungeon. INVEST IN IMPS ◼ Imps are there to cover the fundamentals: dig tunnels, claim land and collect gold. Use the Create Imp spell to boost their numbers, and don’t forget to give them time in the training room to level up as you would with other creatures. UPSIZE ROOMS ◼ Larger rooms will attract a more diverse array of fiends. Bile Demons, for instance, will only enter your dungeon if you provide a big enough lair for them to sleep and a sizeable hatchery…

» XBOX 360 » 2006 » CRYSTAL DYNAMICS There’s no denying that Lara Croft is as much a showbiz icon as a videogame heroine, but the problem with showbiz is that you’ve got to move with the times or get left behind. It was a truth that her creators at Core Design learned the hard way, as the relentless annual schedule the Tomb Raider series followed in the late-Nineties burnt out developers and left little room for meaningful gameplay updates. Tomb Raider: Angel Of Darkness was supposed to fix things in 2003, but Lara was busting out the same old moves, looking for all the world like a Spice Girl in the age of Girls Aloud. There was only one solution – the reinvention of Lara Croft. Eidos brought in…

» System: Switch » Buy it for: £17.99 » Buy it from: Online, retail This five-title Famicom collection is actually quite light on games. Kira Kira Star Night DX is an action game in which you jump around and grab falling stars, while Astro Ninja Man DX is a shoot-’em-up in which your drones function as health. The rest of the package consists of the chiptune albums 8bit Music Power and its Final and Encore sequels, featuring tunes from the likes of Motoaki Furukawa (Gradius), Tomoya Tomita (Castlevania series), Junya Nakano (Final Fantasy X) and ZUN (Touhou series). The games are both well presented but quite simple and rather brief, so this is best enjoyed by music lovers who really treasure that Famicom sound. >> Score 71%…

<INTRO> WELCOME TO ANOTHER COLUMN, WHERE WE TRIED SOMETHING DIFFERENT WITH CERTAIN SCREENSHOTS THIS MONTH. THE JAGUAR GAME JUMPING AT SHADOWS WAS REVIEWED ON REAL HARDWARE (THANKS TO MY FRIEND WAYNE FOR THE GAMEDRIVE) AND SCREENSHOTS WERE TAKEN FROM THE SCREEN, WHILE OUR FEATURED NES TITLE HAS SCREENSHOTS THAT SIMULATE HOW IT WILL LOOK ON A REAL CRT. THE BEST WAY TO SEE THESE TITLES IS ON THE REAL HARDWARE, SO BUY THEM WHEN AVAILABLE! </INTRO> <BODY> Takayuki Kombayashi’s new shmup appears to be covering all the genre’s bases. “Estique is the dream game to develop because there are transforming robots, girls, and many things I want in one horizontal shooting game,” we’re told. He cites, “Side Arms, Thexder, and Volguard II,” as inspiration, while the game’s plot is based…

Believe it or not, this column isn’t my only source of income. Though Retro Gamer obviously pays me a king’s ransom for these 500-odd words every month, it isn’t quite enough to cover the mortgage. The rest of my income is pretty much divided between my YouTube channel – going by the name of Digitiser, of course – and work as a screenwriter. The latter, in fact, is the longest job I’ve ever had; longer even than I was a full-time games journalist. Weirdly, I’ve only ever written for three videogames. Recently, I helped polish the script for Pocketwatch Games’ Monaco 2, and I’m assisting with the writing of an indie adventure called Super Quantum Witch 3000. Oddly, SQW3000 has ended up using some narrative ideas I had for the…

» AMSTRAD CPC » 1987 » GARGOYLE GAMES I’ve always felt that isometric games always worked best on the Amstrad. That’s not to say the other 8-bit micros didn’t have their own excellent renditions of these games, but I always preferred how they looked on Lord Sugar’s micro. As an Amstrad owner I was more than used to not just having hand-me-downs of ZX Spectrum releases, but rough and ready ports that somehow managed to look even worse – R-Type, I’m looking at you. This rarely happened with isometric games though. Even when a game looked visually similar from a graphical point of view, the ability to display the game in multiple colours often made the Amstrad version look far more appealing – think of Ultimate’s Knight Lore, or any…

SUPER HANG-ON 1989 SEGA R&D2 ◼ Sega went all out with its home conversion of Super Hang-On. Yes, the arcade game is faithfully replicated in all its glory, but it’s dwarfed by Original Mode, which adds rivalries with other bikers, the ability to customise your bike and so much more. It makes for a truly comprehensive package. SUPER MONACO GP 1990 SEGA R&D2 ◼ If you’re not keen on racing around on motorcycles, Sega’s adaptation of its Formula 1 arcade racer added a similar campaign mode that was just as lengthy to complete. In addition to its arcade mode, World Championship contains all 16 tracks from the 1989 Formula 1 and lots of customisation and rivalry options just like Super Hang-On. MERCS 1991 SEGA CS1 ◼ Once you get bored…

SHINOBI TRYPHON ◼ This conversion of the first game in Sega’s ninja action series has been in development since at least 2015, and while it’s still incomplete, what’s there feels exceptionally authentic. Work is ongoing, with the developer Tryphon recently displaying progress in implementing the first two boss fights. DARIUS: EXTRA VERSION HIDECADE/M2 ◼ While the Mega Drive can’t replicate the ultra-wide display of an original Darius cabinet, it does a great job with the gameplay within its own constraints. First released on the Mega Drive Mini in 2019, the game eventually received a Taito-endorsed cartridge release via Strictly Limited Games. FANTASY ZONE HIDECADE/M2 ◼ Sega’s System 16 cute-’em-up seems to be a favourite at M2, and this faithful conversion is exclusive to the Mega Drive Mini II. As well…

VIC-20 1983 ◼ The version for Commodore’s machine generally looks pretty close to the Spectrum original, although you’ll notice the complete absence of the floor that the rocket is supposed to be sitting on. The audio is a bit meatier than the Sinclair computer is capable of, too, so the sound effects are rather nicer. Unfortunately, the gameplay doesn’t feel like it has the same delicate balance – enemies feel a bit more numerous and aggressive. There are also only two rockets to build, rather than four, as in the Spectrum original. Still, it’s an impressive outing for the VIC. BBC MICRO 1984 ◼ This version of Jetpac is very colourful – in fact, maybe too colourful, as everything looks just a little gaudy. However, there’s a serious bump up…

◼ Talk of bringing Dizzy back to life following the series’ final game of the 1990s, surfaced in 2003 when the Oliver twins released a 3D video teaser. It showed how a game called Dizzy: Prince Of The Yolkfolk would potentially look if it was developed on the PlayStation 2 but, sadly, it didn’t progress any further. In 2011, however, news broke that Paul Ranson was working on an iPhone version of Prince Of The Yolkfolk. “He’d found some time over Christmas and decided he’d like to try to make an iOS game,” the series’ co-creator Philip Oliver tells us. “But he needed a design, art and audio and realised he had it all backed up for Prince Of The Yolkfolk on the Amiga.” Using those assets, Paul created a…

What is the first videogame you remember seeing, Matt? One of the first was the Star Wars arcade game by Atari – the one with the cabinet that you could sit in. It blew my mind with its digitised speech, sound effects from the film, and the fact it felt like you were in the cockpit of an X-wing. For a kid who was such a huge fan of the movies at the time, it really put you in that world. What home computers did you play growing up? I didn’t get into home gaming properly until the ZX Spectrum arrived. For me, the turning point was when I played Jet Set Willy, which was amazing. There was a lot that you could do in the game that you weren’t…

Young Pascal Jarry did not fit the typical nerd stereotype of the Eighties, as he was not only a very talented programmer, but also an enthusiastic martial artist. “I started doing karate when I was 11 and have been doing full contact, kickboxing, French kickboxing and a bit of Thai boxing ever since,” he tells us. This passion, combined with the programming skills he put to good use at the French gaming studio Loriciel, led him to create a realistic martial arts game. Two things were particularly important to him, “Firstly, I wanted to value training: you train, you progress. Secondly, I wanted an inspiring champion. I first contacted Dominique Valera, my full-contact coach at the time. I had a poster of him in my bedroom as a boy. But he…

» GAME BOY ADVANCE » 2004 » INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS About a decade ago I bought a sealed copy of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones for £70. Ten years on it remains sealed and unplayed and I keep wondering if I should sell it. It’s not that I haven’t played Intelligent Systems’ fantastic sequel before, in fact I actually still own a digital copy of the game as part of Nintendo’s 3DS Ambassador Program, which I absolutely rinsed. I love the Fire Emblem series though and have physical copies of all the European releases, and this is part of that collection. In one sense I lose absolutely nothing from selling my sealed copy, mainly because I still have the digital version of the game knocking around, meaning I can play it…

◼ Released just one year after the base game, The Deeper Dungeons add-on disc provided 15 new levels and 15 new multiplayer maps. The solo campaign is not for the faint-hearted, as it introduces a prominent difficulty spike that assumes mastery of the original campaign. In part, the extra level of challenge comes from enhanced enemy AI. Your devious rival keepers now have more tricks up their sleeves when it comes to amassing gold reserves, such as craftily selling items from their workshops. Enemy characters are also more likely to have their wits about them. As the expansion was developed quickly, there was seemingly no time to add new creatures, spells or buildings into the mix. This lack of unique content was something GameSpot criticised at the time, arguing, “It…

BANJO-KAZOOIE ◼ If people insist that seagulls are an actual type of bird (they aren’t) then we’re more than happy to nominate another made-up gull. While several types of Breegull inhabit Breegull Beach, it’s the red-crested type we’re interested in as one of them is best mates with Banjo. Sure, she can be annoying, but Kazooie also lets Banjo pull off some very special moves. EAGLE FLIGHT ◼ We’ve no idea what a bald eagle is doing living in France, but as it’s a post-apocalyptic version of Paris we’ll allow it. An early showcase for the power of VR, Eagle Flight’s gameplay mechanics may be basic but the game offers an unrivalled feeling of flight. So much so that all bird lovers should experience it. AGONY ◼ Barn owls are…

■ Though John will forever be linked with Roderick Hero and the Atari 2600, he began his coding career making games for the Apple II, having three titles published by Hayden Software in 1982. His first release was Kamikaze, a fairly basic single-screen shooter, requiring you to destroy various enemy aircraft and dodge the occasional dive-bombing plane. Much to John’s surprise, Hayden put the full force of its marketing department behind the game and ran a high-score competition, inviting the top five players to a grand final in San Francisco with a $5,000 prize for the winner. Though John didn’t attend, it was enough to convince him there was money in the software business and his next release was Shuttle Intercept, which riffed on Defender and tied in to the…

» System: Evercade family » Buy it for: £17.99 » Buy it from: Online, retail Blaze’s last release of 2024 is another collection of Toaplan games and while it doesn’t reach the heights of the previous three carts you’ll still want to add it to your collection. Six of Toaplan’s deepest cuts are included, including three shmups: Dogyuun, Grind Stormer and Sky Shark, and they’re all great blasters. That leaves Snow Bros 2, an entertaining single-screen action game, the fighter Knuckle Bash, and Pipi And Bibi’s, an interesting take on Elevator Action with an adult theme. The presentation and emulation is of Blaze’s usual quality and a selection of stickers are included alongside the usual full-colour manual. It’s arguably the weakest Toaplan collection, but it’s still a lot of fun.…

As a magazine that covers gaming’s past, it means we’re always looking back at the good old days. That doesn’t mean we don’t get excited about gaming’s future though, and this year is already looking like it will be great for retro fans. From the magazine’s perspective, there’s a huge number of big anniversaries to look forward to. Super Mario Bros and the NES both celebrate their 40th anniversaries, as do the likes of Tetris, Space Harrier, Ghosts ’N Goblins, Finders Keepers, Paperboy, Commando, Gradius and many more. Panzer Dragoon, Chrono Trigger, Street Fighter Alpha, Command & Conquer, Worms and Rayman are amongst the classic titles celebrating their 30th anniversaries, while Resident Evil 4, Guitar Hero, Shadow Of The Colossus and God Of War are all turning 20. Many of the…

“I already have around 20 interviews in the pipeline, most of which are personal favourites”VINNY MAINOLFI If you’re not aware, FREEZE64 is one of the longest-running retro magazines on the market. For years, it’s been a part-time project by Vinny Mainolfi, but he’s now decided to turn the magazine into a new full-time job. Here’s what you can expect. So Vinny, tell us about your decision to go full time with FREEZE64. After 17 years as a presentations and graphics specialist for a global business, I was unexpectedly made redundant. This sudden change made me realise that the next step in my career had to be something I was truly passionate about. That’s why it was an easy decision to turn FREEZE64, my eight-year-old hobby that was already paying for…

It’s no secret that the Mega Drive was easily Sega’s most successful console, and there are a multitude of reasons for that. A certain speedy blue chap can rightfully claim some credit, innovative marketing definitely played a role and only a fool would ignore the popularity of Electronic Arts and its juggernaut sports games. However, the factor that is undoubtedly closest to the heart of the Mega Drive is its connection to the arcades – Sega built its legacy in the coin-op arena, and its expertise in that area of the business would shape every aspect of the console, from its hardware design and software library to even its marketing. Development of the Mega Drive began in mid-1986. Hideki Sato, who headed up Sega’s home-console R&D division at the time,…

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WRAP IT UP ◼ Enemies spawn from the edges of the screen, so one good trick while you’re waiting is to park yourself in the top-right of the screen and fire right. You’ll cover both sides of the screen as your fire wraps around and be protected from threats below by the platform. TAKE IT DOWN ◼ New fuel won’t spawn until existing fuel has been added to your rocket. However, if Jetman drops the fuel from above, it will fall less quickly than Jetman could, so bring it down yourself to reduce the time you have to spend defending yourself between fuel drops. STAY OFF THE GROUND ◼ If Jetman is walking around on the ground, he’s slower than if he’s in the air. However, if you pull down…

DAVID CRANE ◼ Arguably Activision’s most accomplished 2600 developer, David Crane overcame the system’s limitations to create titles like Pitfall! and Grand Prix. He later worked on other systems, but returned to the 2600 in 1987 with Skate Boardin’. He still designs games, and acts as an expert witness in patent and copyright cases. From its 1979 inception and for its first few years in business, Activision’s focus was on crafting games for the Atari 2600. The firm’s 1980 2600 output included a fun slalom sim called Skiing and David Crane’s popular racing game Dragster. The firm’s 2600 games for 1981 included Larry Kaplan’s bomb-defusing twitch challenge Kaboom! and David’s road-crossing title Freeway. 1982 was a big year for both the 2600 and Activision, with 2600 releases like David’s technically…

ZX SPECTRUM ◼ The original Prince Of The Yolkfolk looked and felt familiar to Dizzy fans primarily because it took direct inspiration from Magicland Dizzy. As such, it made good use of colour and it benefitted from numerous well-drawn, detailed characters while bouncing along at a decent pace. AMSTRAD CPC ◼ As always, the Amstrad CPC conversion was pretty much identical to the Spectrum although it was played in a slightly smaller window. The Dizzy character was a little more colourful thanks to the addition of red hands and feet and some nice green shading around the face. C64 ◼ The C64 version used Peter’s graphics and added a pleasant border but coding duties was handed to Ian Gray who had also worked on the 8-bit C64 port of Fantasy…

On a spectrum of sinister to light-hearted, Dungeon Keeper games hit just the right tone. “The humour grew from the art and our collective creativity, giving the game its signature blend of dark comedy,” Peter states. For John, there was something quite Monty Python-like about hovering your hand over creatures and giving them a big slap. “The slapping was genius. It felt very comedic, this hand coming out of the sky,” he laughs. For the sequel, he recalls that, “The animators had a lot of fun in all the incidental animations. There were some standard ones like walking and digging, then some free slots where they could add other actions and inject more personality into the characters.” Among these actions were some impressive dance moves. If you happen to play…

» System: PC » Buy it for: £14.99 » Buy it from: Steam A menagerie of cartoon critters race one another in this indie snowboarding game from solo developer Byteparrot. There’s clear inspiration from Mario Kart in the variety of weapons and fantastical tracks on offer, while the way you perform tricks to build up a speed boost gauge is reminiscent of SSX. The presentation is nothing special and the weapon balance could do with a little tweaking, but the handling is satisfying and it’s nice and challenging. As well as offering both online and local multiplayer, the game has plenty for solo players to get stuck into, with varied tasks throughout the Campaign mode. A welcome surprise for fans of extreme sports games. >> Score 80%…